Miner police to no longer park, wait for speeders along Interstate 55

MINER, Mo. -- Miner police have been directed to no longer park and wait for speeders on Interstate 55.

The Miner Board of Alderman voted Tuesday night to prohibit city police from parking along the interstate to catch speeders -- although officers will be allowed to periodically patrol the highway.

"I don't want them out there speed trapping," said Mayor Frank Tatum.

Tatum doesn't mind if officers occasionally cruise interstate to check "if someone is in need of help."

City attorney Joe Fuchs said he never has known members of the Miner Police Department to abuse I-55 enforcement efforts, saying they have only written citations that needed to be written, Fuchs said.

"I don't have trouble with them patrolling it," Alderman Terry Cole said. "I just don't want them sitting under a tree then gunning it [to catch a speeder]."

Cole said the city's police patrol cars are too old for that kind of strain.

"You're going to tear those cars up," he said. "If you have a brand-new car, that's different."

Tatum said traffic going 85 to 90 mph presents a danger to cars entering or exiting the highway at the interchange.

Pertinent address:

Miner, Mo.